Golghar

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See also Gol Ghar. The Golghar ("Round house"), is located to the west of the Gandhi Maidan in Patna, capital of Bihar state, India . Disturbed by the devastating famine of 1770 administrator Warren Hastings ordered the construction of a granary. Captain John Garstin got this Silo or beehive shaped structure built for the purpose of storing grains for the British army. It has a storage capacity of 140000 tons and was completed on 20th July 1786. At that time, India was under the British Raj. It has a foundation of 125m, and a height of 29m. It is pillarless with a wall of thickness of 3.6m at the base. One can climb atop the Golghar through the 145 steps of its winding stairway around the monument. The top of the Golghar presents a wonderful panoramic view of the city and the Ganga flowing nearby. At time of its construction, it was the tallest building in Patna.

One interesting fact about the Golghar is that never in its existence has it been filled to its maximum capacity and there are no plans in future as well. The reason for this is that due to oversight while designing and construction of the Golghar, the doors were designed to open inside. Thus, if it is filled to its maximum capacity, then the doors will not open.